Step 5: Riding

Step 6: Riding Solo

Riding solo on the Side by Side was surprisingly easy once you get past the fear of riding while the bike leans to one side. You can hold on to a ...

The Side by Side bicycle, also known as a "sociable", or more recently as a buddy bike, appears to date back to 1896. Unlike a tandem, where the riders are inline to one another, here the riders are side by side. To build one, you start with a regular bike and make 3 modifications: pedals, seats, and handle bars. To accomodate riders of different weight, my idea was to to slide the seats left/right such that the heavier rider sits closer to the frame. This adjustment is limited however since the farther the seats are extended in either direction, the more uncomfortable the pedaling becomes. Perhaps you will not need this feature. To reduce interference between the riders, the seats can be staggered as described and illustrated in this patent issued in 1979. This reference notes the use of a chain for the steering mechanism but I believe it's easier to build a linkage tie rod. Riding side by side is so much fun and exciting! The Side by Side is safer than my "Antique Bicycle", although it too requires skill which is quickly attained through practice and teamwork as demonstrated in my Side by Side video...

i've owned a side by side buddy bike for over 25 years. i ride it a lot with my girlfriend.

i just watched the video on this page of your first attempt at riding the side by side bike. while you may have already figured out what i'm about to write, there is a MUCH easier and safer way to start and stop.

the driver balances the bike with his inside foot on the inside pedal and his outside foot on the ground. he squeezes both brakes, making the bike immoveable. THEN the passenger gets on completely, starting with her inside foot. She does not get on or off the bike EVER until the driver has returned to the one-foot-down position with both brakes holding the bike in place. When they come to a stop at an intersection, the driver puts his outside foot down and the passenger keeps both feet on the pedals.

in the video, it looked like your handlebars were set too low. can you raise them?

also, i've added toe-clips to the pedals of my buddy bike. it helps a lot, especially because the bike is the opposite of aerodynamic..

Hi Mark, Yep we've had that all figured out. I now ride it with my 5 year old daughter. I have attached an extra set of pedals (that just turn) and handlebars for her to reach comfortably. It never fails to bring a smile and I think she enjoys the attention as much as I do.

It is interesting to see that the pedals here are 180 degrees out of phase. Some of Embacher's collection is on display here in Portland, OR, as "Cyclepedia". The sociable in the collection, a "Buddy Bike" has the pedals in phase: both riders have their left feet down at the same time. Cornering would feel more natural to both riders (outside foot down). But getting started would stress one of the crank arms more, and I wonder how this might affect the sensations of balance and rhythm on the bike, for better or worse? http://www.embacher-collection.at/radseiten/5-1-BUDDYBIKE-en.html

Less stress on the cranks when out of phase since you have most of the weight on the inside pedal when starting or stopping. Easier to build in phase though. Disagree with the link's comment that riders need to be same weight and that riding solo is impossible. I doubt author has experience. Thanks for posting.

Carlitos, your design is good, interesting, well thought-out and well done. But I think that in some places this bicycle is not legal. Example: traffic law in my country (Argentina) forces bicycles to run in single file, it is to say one behind the other.

Some people ignore this law, and them they take almost all the street when cycling in group. But that is another matter...

I've owned a Sociable for 30 years. It deserves the name: you sit close, you can converse in quiet tones. This was the original "bicycle built for two." The most natural place for your arm is around her waist.

Actually, it's extremely stable -- much more so than an ordinary single bike or a tandem -- because it tips over so slowly. Why? A bike's axis of rotation passes through the points where the rubber meets the road. The Sociable's two riders are farther away from the axis of rotation than the rider of an ordinary bike, so the rotational moment (aka "inertia") is about 50% higher.

A Sociable has a short wheelbase, like other bikes but unlike a tandem. You can ride it in amazingly small circles, feeling comfortably balanced. It doesn't care whether rider weights are balanced. In fact you can ride it solo, no passenger on the other seat. (it leans to one side, and you have to keep a constant push on the handlebars in order to ride straight, but it's doable, and you're riding single only as far as your sweetie's home, right?)

On the other hand . . . it also has MUCH higher wind resistance, and upwind pedaling can be really tough. Storage takes a surprising amount of space.

Hmm. I'm curious to try this solo. Though not easy, I suppose a tight rope walker could hold the pole on its end and still stay balanced by leaning the other way. I'm guessing your sociable's seats are not adjustable to accomodate riders of different weight? If the bike was stationary and the riders were of equal weight, sliding the seats to one side 1" would effectively be the same as a solo rider being 2" off to one side. Regardless, I'm guessing it makes a difference being able to adjust.

This was so great that I just had to try it! I sourced all the parts for free at the local recycling center, I can't wait to go back and show them what I did with the 'junk' they gave me! Thank you so much for the brilliant instructable and inspiring me to make one myself, my wife loves it!

I just made a pretty good discovery on my side-by-side: Instead of having both center pedals down at the same time, put them 90 degrees apart, so when one rider has their pedals up & down, the other rider has theirs front & back. This makes for a much smoother ride with more even power distribution, it's like changing the firing order on an engine :)

Does it pull to the side of the heavier rider at all? Whats it like on hills or is it just for fun on the flats?

Portrush a seaside town in N.Ireland used to have 4 wheeled bikes for hire, they where like 2 Raleigh Choppers welded side by side. I can remember seeing them back in the 70's when i was a kid but was never big enough to be able to go on one, sadly they fell out of fashion because of the increase in road traffic and a few minor accidents and finally the town council banned them before anything serious happened.

It's an odd one allright. Yes it pulls a little to the heavier side. A 40 lb. difference is readily managed. This one is a cruiser so fun for flats but I suppose a speed bike would be better for hills, though there is more wind resistance. A mountain bike for rough terrain would be interesting. Would be fun to see other builds.

Misread your question as I thought you meant 2 handle bars controlling the steering. Extending the handle bars instead or even using an unmodified set would seem unnatural since one pushes while the other pulls to maintain the balance or turn. Simplifies building it but complicates steering.

In the original 1890's style, both could steer so certainly that would work too. With one designated driver, there is no tug of war and I think it is easier on the passenger as long as there is trust. Balance is really not an issue. You learn to compensate for different weights by riding slightly tilted. I'll soon be adding another step: Riding Solo. So check back and look for another video!

I was in the bicycle retail business for over seventeen years,and we were our states sole dealer for the "Buddy Bike" in the 80'sand(or) 90's...It's surprisingly easy to learn, and riding solo is quite fun as well, it doesn't take long after being on it solo for someone else to want to jump on! I tell people about them all the time, but it's nice to see a new wave of this type of bike.....They really are more "Sociable" than a tandem......

I thought your co-rider was your wife and it made me happy (brought tears to my eyes) that you can get it wrong and laugh together...but it's your daughter - Where's your wife??? I think it's excellent. What about stabilisers to improve balance?

Your wife should know that as scary as it looks, it's almost boring once you're underway. I try to build a new passenger's confidence by having her mount first. I have my left foot on the ground, right in the pedal and toeclip. I'm squeezing both brake levers, and I have the bike tilted slightly toward me. It's easy to maintain this posture, and the passenger gets no wobbles, which builds confidence. I ask her to hold the dummy handlebars, put her feet on the pedals, and lean her torso from side to side just to test. Still no wobbles, and we're ready to roll gently away.

btw I did say toeclips there. Personal choice, but without them you have a high risk of someone's foot slipping off a pedal. On an ordinary bike, you'd instinctively pause in your pedaling and reach out with the loose foot, no problem. On a Sociable, though, the other rider may keep pedaling, and it gets tricky for your foot to find the pedal. In fact, you're likely to pause in your pedaling, and now both feet have lost their pedals.

The pedals being in sync seems like a problem. How about incorporating a second freewheel hub for one rider ? And if you want to go nuts, maybe even two entire chain and gear sets, so the weaker rider can pedal at a higher rate for a given speed? On second thought, since this will usually be used by husband and wife, why not just face reality and give the wife a fixed set of foot rests, a phone cradle, and a vanity mirror? (Seriously, nice work!)

Apparently that kind of bike was marketed in the '80s, but didn't take off... mostly because of rimar2000's concerns. It's just too wide to use on cycle paths and scary for oncoming cyclists. But building this rig when you have the space to use it, like your own piece of land, I'm sure it's an awesome idea!